Simon Murray stepped in as Glencore chairman when it floated in London last year after reports that other City figures had turned down the role amid fears over Glencore’s corporate governance standards.

Glasenberg will have 8.3 per cent of the merged firm, while sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding will have 8.45 per cent.

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Glencore, which declined to comment, is understood to be keen to involve investors closely in the appointment of new non-executives.

‘We know it is a sensitive issue so we will be deeply consultative,’ said a source.

‘We do see the creation of a new board as an opportunity to flesh out any of these areas where people are not comfortable and deal properly with them. We not only have to get the right result, we have to be seen to get it.’

There is also concern among some investors that Sir John Bond, Xstrata’s outgoing chairman, will have a say over the appointment of a new chairman for the merged group.